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Better Together:Alternative Chapter Structures

Presenter: Karen L. Verrico, CAE SHRM Field Services Director • December 2012

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SHRM and its Field Affiliate Structure

• The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management with 260,000 members in over 140 countries.

• SHRM Chapter structure was established to provide SHRM members the opportunity to support the SHRM mission locally and participate in activities relevant to local needs.

• To bring local coordination to this ever-expanding structure, State Councils were then formed by SHRM to provide oversight to the chapters in that state and to represent the united voice of SHRM members in the state.

• A SHRM Strategic Review in 2009 and a resulting member-driven Chapter Study in 2010 showed that we needed to look at possible alternative structures that make sense for the future of SHRM and for the benefit of its members.

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Traditional SHRM Chapter

• Based on our history and expectations at the time, we measured ourselves on how many new chapters were formed.

• Most common SHRM affiliate structure -

one chapter affiliate

=one city

=one program site

• The result of the ‘unplanned community’ growth was almost 600 chapters at our peak and many new chapters who could not sustain themselves over time.

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Traditional SHRM Chapter

• About 65% of SHRM Chapters are under 50 SHRM members

• As of Dec 2011, there were about 14% or 84 Chapters with under 25 SHRM members.

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What did our Chapters tell us?

• Chapter Leaders Struggle with:

> Financial resource issues• Chapter dues pool not large enough for

major projects

> Volunteer Burnout• Volunteer pool not large enough for major

projects

> Duplication/Competition issues• Nearby chapters are doing the same thing

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How do we achieve balance?

• Chapter Leaders Ask:

> How do we increase our resources and services without losing that small-chapter, more personal interaction?

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SHRM Chapter Structural Shifts

Some Chapters have already implemented realigned models to:•Merge existing chapters to pool resources •Capture at-large members in remote areas•Provide both local and expanded networking •Improve availability of programming•Expand volunteer base to meet their mission, reducing burnout•Provide for focused activities based on need•Gain united visibility in legislative & media relations•Increase sponsorship revenue with wider reach •Pool financial resources to be able to share administrative support

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Chapter Structural Shifts

•Providing the Members with improved services, more options and increased access to services should be the primary reason for considering any change

•In the ‘new’ realigned chapter structure, combining volunteer and financial resources results in a greater variety of member services and engagement opportunities.

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What Does the ‘New’ Realigned Chapter Look like?

• The Chapter Affiliate – the sum of the geographic areas of members. Where you deliver your services. Much broader than one city or location.

• Member Service Areas (MSAs) – Local hubs (formerly individual chapters) that service the affiliate’s members. A chapter can be composed of as many MSAs as necessary – as few as 2, as many as 6-8, a state. Every situation is unique. Active MSAs make ‘big places smaller’.

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What Does the ‘New’ Realigned Chapter Look like?

• Membership – Individuals join at the broader affiliate chapter level and can access all programs and services in the chapter regardless of location. Communications are tailored to your preferred MSA(s).

• Volunteer Structure– Combines the Governance Board at the Chapter level with Leadership Teams at the MSA level. There is a place for any member who would like to be engaged in a leadership positions. All MSAs are represented in the governance process.

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Where can this new Realigned Chapter Structure be implemented?

• New Audiences – In rural or remote areas where a new chapter would be a challenge to sustain. The remote area would be a new MSA of the affiliate chapter. (e.g. San Diego)

• Struggling Chapters – rather than disaffiliation, becoming an MSA of another chapter keeps the connection going (e.g. Carson City)

• Overlapping Chapters – If two chapters are duplicating efforts and dividing loyalties. (e.g. NCHRA and Santa Clara)

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Where can this new Realigned Chapter Structure be implemented?

• Large Chapters– If there is decreasing engagement, it is harder to survive with a central meeting location, subdividing into MSAs will help retention. No need to have parts break away to form new chapters. (e.g. Middle Tennessee, Atlanta, PIHRA)

• States – For chapters under 800-1000 members, with duplication of efforts in states, create a new synergy by uniting and forming 4-10 Member Service Areas in the state under one membership with both statewide and local programming. (e.g. Hawaii)

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Case Study – Adding a non-SHRM group as an MSA

• Adding an alternate location can help retain members who could be considering another non-SHRM Chapter or forming another SHRM chapter.

• San Diego SHRM www.sdshrm.org > About 1000 members> Recognized the need to serve members in the North

County area (60 people)> North County members could not travel 45 minutes to the

downtown San Diego meeting location> Program Committee plans 8 meetings held annually> Members now can choose where to network each month > Vice President- North Coast sits on the SD-SHRM Board

of Directors

• Be careful not to make it more complicated than necessary. The benefits to the end-user, the member, will not improve.

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Case Study – Helping a Struggling Chapter

• Merging two chapters together can bring benefit to both chapters.

• Northern Nevada HR Association www.nnhra.org

> About 400 members> SHRM Chapter in Carson City was struggling with many

of the reasons we touched on earlier> Decided to merge into NNHRA to become NNHRA –

Carson Area > Monthly programs are held in both Reno & Carson City> Chair sits on the NNHRA Board of Directors

• Mergers require careful planning and a very high level or communication and cooperate. But the end result is a greater variety of services for all members and increased volunteer engagement.

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Case Study – Segmenting a larger chapter

• Programs Vice-Chairs in each geographic area form the Programs Committee led by a Programs Chair.

> Middle Tennessee SHRM www.mtshrm.org• 1000+ members - up from 500 a few years ago• Each geographic subgroup has about 6 meetings/yr

in assigned months to supplement chapterwide events

– MTSHRM – Metro (Nashville)• 2nd Thursday of the month

– MTSHRM – South (Franklin)• 4th Thursday of the month

– MTSHRM – North (Hendersonville)• 1st Thursday of the month

• Geographic Groups can sometimes help address specialized industry needs.

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Case Study – Combining Resources for Better Service

• Changed their name from Phoenix HRA in approx. 2002 to reflect their expansion.

• Valley of the Sun (AZ) www.vshra.org • About 300 members • 3 areas with Area Chairs and Programs Chairs

- Central Valley Area (formerly MPHRA)- North Valley Area (formerly NVHRA)- West Valley Area

• Generally monthly meetings are held in each area• Area Chairs serve on the Board• Converted to a 100% chapter in 2011• More changes to come to unite the services

• Strong respected branding can help you move

forward and unify the efforts of the Chapter.

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Case Study – SHRM State Level Affiliate

A Success Story– Membership at the State Level with local subgroups

• Example – SHRM Hawaii www.shrmhawaii.org > Pre-2005 – State Council and four affiliate chapters> Examined resources and member priorities> 2006 – Reorganized into one affiliate at the state level

with four island districts > Resulted in a more efficient Mega Chapter while

retaining a smaller, focused connection in multiple locations

> Resulted in statewide branding and recognition

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Case Study – SHRM State Level Affiliate

• Local islands focus on:> Programs under 2 credit hours > College Relations> Certification> Specific Island Needs

• Local islands provide:> Convenient volunteer opportunities in small chunks> Limited goals and activities to achieve

• Local District Chair serves on State Board

• State chapter focuses on a unified statewide approach for:> Membership Development> Legislative and Govt affairs> Workforce Development> Outreach – PR and marketing> State Conference> Website and Communications> Serving SHRM At-large Members> Research> Administration – dues, finance, staffing, legal entity

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A Leader’s Perspective – NNHRA forming MSAs

Thoughts from Cindy Davis, SPHR, State Council Director, NV

• From your perspective as the Chapter President-Elect at the time, why did NNHRA pursue this initiative?

• What were the steps you needed to take to make this successful for the members and the chapters?

• How is it working now that you have two Member Services Areas? Are you considering more?

• Other comments?

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An Overview Snapshot

How would this new

Realigned Chapter Operate?

What is a must and what

is an option?

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Key Reminders about a Realigned Structure

SHRM Affiliation – •One SHRM affiliate regardless of the number of MSAs

> One charter> One chapter number

•Member Service Areas (MSAs) are an extension of the Chapter – NOT separate entities•One SHAPE – includes activities of subgroups

Bylaws – There is one set of bylaws for the chapter and all MSAs must comply with the bylaws and operational guidelines of the affiliate chapter

Suggested wording in chapter bylaws: Section III. Member Service Areas In order to serve the geographic needs of the members, the Chapter shall establish local areas for the development and delivery of chapter services. These areas shall operate under the operational guidelines set forth by the Chapter Board of Directors.

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Realigned Chapter Operations

• Accounting/Finance> One consolidated financial statements for chapter

includes all activities> MSA budgets within the overall chapter budget> MSAs should follow a break-even or better balance> CFSP is paid to one entity – the Chapter and the

chapter manages the use of those funds through its budget.

• Dues and Events> Chapter dues provides access to all chapter programs

at the member rate regardless of location.> MSAs do not have their own dues structure> Program fees reflect local differences (venue costs,

meal costs, speaker fees, etc.)

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Realigned Chapter Operations

• Governance> Chapter President is the Chief Elected Officer > MSA Chairs are elected on the annual chapterwide

ballot> In the description of the Chapter Board either:

• Option 1 – The Area Chair of each approved MSA will serve on the BOD in a voting capacity

• Option 2 – The MSAs shall be represented on the Board by the District Directors who are responsible for the effective operations of the MSAs

> Each MSA would have a leadership team of positions needed to implement services but these are not governance roles.

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MSA Operations

Member Service Areas – •Must comply with Chapter Charter and bylaws•Have a team of leaders to focus on local needs•Have their own section of the chapter budget to manage•Have member and nonmember fees to attract membership•Coordinate education topics and dates to provide the optimal schedule for members•Support and implement the annual goals of the Chapters

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Branding Reminders

Keep the Chapter Brand United and Consistent

Name – There is only one inclusive Chapter Name for the service area e.g. Northern Nevada HR Association

Member Service Areas – The branding is carried thru to the MSAs e.g. NNHRA Reno Area, NNHRA Carson Area, NNHRA Elko Area. A former chapter can keep their name but replace the word ‘chapter’ with ‘Area”. (other options TBD)

Website – > the Chapter website has sections for each MSA and

their activities.> Map of geographic MSAs – a visual of service coverage

Chapter and MSA education promo is chapterwide > Members will travel if the topic is right> Options for chapterwide webinars, all contribute content

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Use Visuals of Your Geographic Groups

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Promote Multiple Program Locations

• Thursday, June 02 2011 05:30pm - 07:30pmUltimate HR Networking Experience!  ::  All

• Wednesday, June 15 2011 11:30am - 01:30pmSD SHRM Lunch-Staying Cool Under Pressure  ::  All

• Wednesday, June 22 2011 07:30am - 09:30amSD SHRM North Coast-Breakfast-Staying Cool Under P ...  ::  North County

OR

MTSHRM October Events

4 October Continuing Ed Workshop 6 October North Meeting 7 MTSU/SR SHRM Breakfast Series:

Time is Money 13 October Metro Meeting 27 October South Meeting

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Other Reminders

Legal Considerations

Is this a Merger? Not technicallyOne currently affiliated chapter/corporation will be realigned to include a larger geographic area and the individual memberships will be transferred to the surviving chapter. Groups develop a Memo of Understanding that outlines the details of the decisions made.

The other chapter(s) will be disaffiliated and dissolved

What Does the Dissolving Chapter need to do – Notify SHRM of the disaffiliation

(see Disaffiliation Guide)Transfer member recordsFollow state law to dissolve corporation

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What are the Challenges in a broader Chapter?

• Assuring broad representation in governance

• Developing a model of inclusion

• Communication among the MSAs

• Retaining “all-chapter meetings” along with the subgroups meetings

• Balancing overall chapter and CLA goals in subgroups

• Centralized database – easy access to local information

• Need a clear operational manual on how subgroups operate and contribute to the whole

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How Do You Start?

• Form a Task Force of Visionaries• Analysis

> Statistics for your area/state> Review the websites of the MS chapters to find the

commonalities> Review the websites of other SHRM chapters with

alternative structures> Each area/state is unique and has different

possibilities> What is the best solution for the members based on

what you know about the geographic area?

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How Do You Start?

• Acknowledge the pain points> Loss of Identity

• Create ownership of the new identity> Title Changes> Financial Impact - Show how there is no loss of local

funds or accountability

• Use each other’s strengths> You each have strengths that can be part of the

process> Put efforts where success can be achieved first, then

together work on the rest.> Tap on the experience of your Field Services Director

and other SHRM staff

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How Do You Start?

• What is the role of the leaders?> To be a possibility thinker and look to a new

model for member engagement> To be a change agent and strategic architect

and help others think through the possibilities> To try as best you can to see the benefit to

the end users – the member and the volunteers – in combining resources

> Be patient - Take your time – it may take two years to be successful

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Ready to be Transformational Leaders?

Thank you for all you do for SHRM,

for being on today's webinar and

for thinking about how you may be

BETTER TOGETHER!!

Questions?

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